WATER DISPENSER

Abstract

A method for operating a water dispenser, the water dispenser having a water supply, a carbon dioxide supply, an outlet for pouring water into a container placed below the outlet, a controller and a user interface, the method including the following steps, which are executed in response to an activation of the water dispenser via the user interface: determining a nominal value of a water volume (V) that is to be filled into the container determining a nominal value of a waiting period (WP) by means of the controller determining nominal values of a first partial volume (V1) and a second partial volume (V2) by means of the controller (V1+V2=V), in particular by determining a volume ratio (R) with R=V1/V for dividing the water volume (V) into the partial volumes (V1, V2) pouring the first partial volume (V1) through the outlet waiting through the waiting period (WP) pouring the second partial volume (V2) through the outlet.

Claims

1. A method for operating a water dispenser, the water dispenser having a water supply, a carbon dioxide supply, an outlet for pouring water into a container placed below the outlet, a controller and a user interface, the method comprising the following steps, which are executed in response to an activation of the water dispenser via the user interface: determining a nominal value of a water volume (V) that is to be filled into the container; determining a nominal value of a waiting period (WP) of using the controller; determining nominal values of a first partial volume (V1) and a second partial volume (V2) with V1+V2=V using the controller, in particular by determining a volume ratio (R) with R=V1/V for dividing the water volume (V) into the partial volumes (V1, V2), pouring the first partial volume (V1) through the outlet, waiting through the waiting period (WP); and pouring the second partial volume (V2) through the outlet.

2. The method for operating a water dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the waiting period (WP) and/or the volume ratio (R) are determined on the basis of at least one of the following parameters: the water volume (V), a first temperature (T1) of the water being poured, a second temperature (T2) of an area surrounding the water dispenser, a saturation degree (D) of carbon dioxide in the water volume (V), and a flow rate (Q) of the water dispenser.

3. The method for operating a water dispenser according to claim 2, wherein the first temperature (T1), the second temperature (T2), the saturation degree (D) and/or the flow rate (Q) are the same for both the first partial volume (V1) and the second partial volume (V2).

4. The method for operating a water dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the nominal value of the waiting period (WP) is between 0.5 s and 3 s.

5. The method for operating a water dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the volume ratio (R) is between 0.8 and 0.97.

6. The method for operating a water dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the controller provides signals based on the determined volume ratio (R) and/or the determined nominal value of the waiting period (WP) to other components of the water dispenser.

7. The method for operating a water dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the water volume (V), the nominal value of the waiting period (WP) and/or the volume ratio (R) is determined by gathering information from a computer-readable medium of the water dispenser.

8. The method for operating a water dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the water volume (V), the nominal value of the waiting period (WP) and/or the volume ratio (R) is determined by identifying which button of a multitude of buttons is pressed on the user interface and then gathering information from the computer-readable medium based on the identification of the button pressed by the user.

9. The method for operating a water dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the step of providing information about a status of the method to the user.

10. A computer program comprising instructions to cause a water dispenser having a water supply, a carbon dioxide supply, an outlet for pouring water into a container placed below the outlet, a controller and a user interface to execute the steps of the method of claim 1.

11. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon the computer program of claim 10.

12. A water dispenser having a water supply, a carbon dioxide supply, an outlet for pouring water into a container placed below the outlet, a controller, a user interface and the computer-readable medium according to claim 11.

13. The water dispenser according to claim 12, wherein the water supply comprises a water tank and/or a coupling for connecting the water dispenser to an external water supply system.

14. The water dispenser according to claim 12, wherein the carbon dioxide supply comprises a carbon dioxide tank and/or a coupling for connecting the water dispenser to an external carbon dioxide supply system.

15. The water dispenser according to claim 12, wherein the water dispenser further comprises at least one of the following additional components: a casing surrounding one or more of the components of the water dispenser; a display, in particular when the buttons are not present in the form of a multi-touch display; a mixing unit for mixing water from the water supply and carbon dioxide from the carbon dioxide supply; a pump for pumping water from the water supply to the outlet; a valve for selectively allowing the passage of water from the water supply, the carbon dioxide supply and/or the mixing unit to the outlet; one or more sensors for determining ne or more of the parameters as described above.

16. The water dispenser according to claim 3, wherein the nominal value of the waiting period (WP) is between 0.5 s and 3 s, wherein the volume ratio (R) is between 0.8 and 0.97, and wherein the controller provides signals based on the determined volume ratio (R) and/or the determined nominal value of the waiting period (WP) to other components of the water dispenser.

17. The water dispenser according to claim 16, wherein the water volume (V), the nominal value of the waiting period (WP) and/or the volume ratio (R) is determined by gathering information from a computer-readable medium of the water dispenser, wherein the water volume (V), the nominal value of the waiting period (WP) and/or the volume ratio (R) is determined by identifying which button of a multitude of buttons is pressed on the user interface and then gathering information from the computer-readable medium based on the identification of the button pressed by the user, and wherein the method further comprises the step of providing information about a status of the method to the user.

18. A computer program comprising instructions to cause a water dispenser having a water supply, a carbon dioxide supply, an outlet for pouring water into a container placed below the outlet, a controller and a user interface to execute the steps of the method of claim 17.

19. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon the computer program of claim 18.

20. A water dispenser having a water supply, a carbon dioxide supply, an outlet for pouring water into a container placed below the outlet, a controller, a user interface and the computer-readable medium according to claim 19.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0057] The invention will be described in detail with reference to the examples shown in the drawings, in which the following is shown:

[0058] FIG. 1 schematically a water dispenser according to the invention; and

[0059] FIG. 2 a graph illustrating the pouring of water over time.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0060] The water dispenser 1 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a mixing unit 3, a controller 5, a computer-readable medium 7, a multi-touch display 9, a water tank 11 and a carbon dioxide tank 13 as well as an outlet 15. The water tank 11 contains water and the carbon dioxide tank 13 contains pressurized carbon dioxide.

[0061] The purpose of the water dispenser 1 is mainly to pour carbonated water into a container 17 placed below the outlet 15. The multi-touch display 9 acts as a user interface. The display 9 provides information to the user such as a selection of different water volumes that can be poured, a selection of different temperatures T1 at which the water is to be poured and/or a selection of different saturation degrees D at which the water is to be poured. For this purpose several buttons may be shown n the multi-touch display 9 so that the user may choose the properties at which the water is to be poured into the container by pressing the multi-touch display in the location of one of the buttons on the display 9.

[0062] By pressing n the display 9 the water dispenser 1 is activated by the user. The controller 5 determines which area on the display 9 has been pressed and then determines the nominal value of the water volume V and possibly other parameters of the water that is to be filled into the container 17 by accessing a database on the computer readable medium 7 indicating which button is shown in which area of the display 9 and which nominal value of the water volume V is associated with said button.

[0063] In addition to the water volume V and possibly other parameters of the water, the controller 5 determines the nominal value of a waiting period WP and a volume ratio R associated with said nominal value of the water volume V and any other parameter. The waiting period WP and the volume ratio R vary for different water volumes V and any other parameter, so that the controller 5 determines the waiting period WP and the volume ratio R based n the water volume V and any other parameter by accessing the computer readable medium 7 and gathering the appropriate waiting period WP and volume ratio R based on said specific water volume V and any other parameter chosen by the user. The information which waiting period WP and/or volume ratio R should be chosen for which water volume V and any other parameter may be stored in a database or a table on the computer readable medium 7. In other embodiments the waiting period WP and the volume ratio R may each be stored as one specific value on the computer readable medium 7 so that the controller 5 only has to retrieve said specific values for determining the waiting period WP and the volume ratio R thus carrying out the method according to the invention.

[0064] With the volume ratio R the water volume V that is to be poured into the container 17 is divided into a first partial volume V1 and a second partial volume V2 meaning that the nominal value of the water volume V is divided into nominal values for the partial volumes V1, V2 with V1+V2=V and R=V1/V.

[0065] The mixing unit 3 is connected to both the water tank 11 and the carbon dioxide tank 13. An activation of the mixing unit 3 results in an opening of a valve (not shown), which opens up the connection between the mixing unit 3 and the carbon dioxide tank 13. The mixing unit 3 further comprises a pump (not shown) for pumping water from the water tank 11 into the mixing unit 3. Said pumping is initiated when the mixing unit 3 is activated. By opening the valve and activating the pump water and carbon dioxide flow into the mixing unit where they are mixed, thus creating carbonized water 3. From the mixing unit 3 the carbonized water flows to the outlet 15 and exits the outlet 15, thus being poured into the container 17.

[0066] For the pouring process the controller 5 first determines the water volume V, the waiting period WP and the volume ratio R as described above and then opens the valve and activates the mixing unit 3, thereby pouring the first partial volume V1 through the outlet 15 into the container 17.

[0067] When the first partial volume V1 has been poured, which may be determined via a flow sensor (not shown) or a measurement of the pouring time for example, the controller 5 closes the valve and deactivates the mixing unit 3, thereby stopping the pouring of water through the outlet 15. The controller 5 now waits through the waiting period WP. Afterwards the controller 5 opens the valve and activates the mixing unit 3 once more, thereby pouring the second partial volume V2 through the outlet 15 into the container 17.

[0068] In other embodiments the water tank 11 may be replaced by a coupling for connecting the water dispenser 1 to an external water supply system such as a tap. In such embodiments, the water dispenser 1 does not need a pump, because the external water supply will usually supply water under pressure sufficient for transporting the water to the outlet 15. Instead, the water dispenser 1 has an additional valve in such embodiments for selectively allowing or disallowing the passage of water from the coupling to the mixing unit 3. Said additional valve is opened when the mixing unit 3 is activated and closed when the pouring is completed.

[0069] The graph shown in FIG. 2 illustrates the pouring process of the water dispenser 1 of FIG. 1. The time is shown on the horizontal axis while the vertical axis indicates the status of the mixing unit 3 in a binary manner showing either the value 0 for a deactivated mixing unit or the value 1 for an activated mixing unit.

[0070] At the beginning (t=0) the mixing unit 3 is deactivated. At t1 the mixing unit 3 is activated by the controller 5, whereby carbonated water is poured into the container 17 as described above. At t2 the mixing unit 3 is deactivated, because the first partial volume V1 has been poured into the container 17. During the pouring of the first partial volume V1, bubbles will form on a surface of the water poured into the container 17, thereby wetting an inner surface of the container 17 in areas above the nominal water level.

[0071] As described above the controller 5 waits through the waiting period WP. The waiting period WP encompasses the time period between t2 and t3. During the waiting period WP, these bubbles will burst at least partially, but the wetted surface areas will remain wet.

[0072] At t3 the mixing unit 3 is activated once more for pouring the second partial volume V2 into the container 17. The pouring of the second partial volume V2 is concluded at t4, at which point the controller deactivates the mixing unit 3 once more. During the pouring of the second partial volume V2 some bubbles may form n the surface of the water already poured into the container 17, but the amount of bubbles present at the end f the pouring of the second partial volume V2 will be reduced in comparison with pouring the water volume V in one go. This is achieved both by bubbles bursting during the waiting period WP and by the bubbles of the first partial volume V1 having wet the inside of the container 17 during the pouring of the first partial volume V1, thus reducing the bubble formation during the pouring of the second partial volume V2.

[0073] It can be seen that the time period between t3 and t4 is much shorter than the time period between t1 and t2. Because the flow rate of the water dispenser 1 is the same for both, the first partial volume V1 and the second partial volume V2 the second partial volume V2 is much smaller than the first partial volume V1. This illustrates the volume ratio R that was determined by the controller 5 before the pouring process. In the present case the volume ratio R being equal to V1/V is about 0.95.

LIST OF REFERENCES

[0074] 1 water dispenser [0075] 3 mixing unit [0076] 5 controller [0077] 7 computer-readable medium [0078] 9 display [0079] 11 water tank [0080] 13 carbon dioxide tank [0081] 15 outlet [0082] 17 container [0083] WP waiting period